GB-A-2 215 971 reveals a windrow merging attachment including a pick-up and conveying arrangement for windrowed crop lying on the ground, that is fastened to the front side of an agricultural tractor and repositions crop lying on the ground in front of the agricultural tractor to the side of the latter.
The problem underlying the invention is seen in the fact that too many operating steps are required for the mowing of the crop and its gathering into swaths or windrows.
DE-C 199 31 684 discloses a self-propelled mowing vehicle with one mowing unit located in front, one located at the left and one located at the right of the running gear. The front mowing unit deposits the crop that has been cut centrally in a swath or windrow between the wheels of the mowing vehicle, while the mowing units at the side convey the crop to the center of the vehicle and throw it between the front and the rear wheels upon the swath already formed between the wheels.
This embodiment accommodates only a small amount of crop since the space for a swath between the wheels is relatively small. Beyond that, the crop in the edge region of the swath can be damaged by wheels rolling over it.
The result of these considerations is the problem of the low harvesting capacity.
Finally it is known practice to combine crop lying on the ground by means of a tedder which, however, has the disadvantage that the tedder can lose tines or whirl up stones which then can reach the crop as foreign objects.